To refinish or repair a finish on vehicle, such as a colorcoat/clearcoat finish on automobile or truck bodies, different fast-drying coating compositions have been developed. A number of pigmented and clear air-dry acrylic lacquers have been used in the past to repair or refinish a colorcoat/clearcoat finish, but none meet the rapid drying times that are desired in combination with outstanding physical properties, such as chip and humidity resistance and adhesion.
A key concern to a refinish customer which is typically the vehicle owner is that the coating in use has excellent physical properties such as chip and humidity resistance, and adhesion, as well as excellent aesthetic appearance.
Another key concern of the automobile and truck refinish industry is productivity, i.e., the ability to complete an entire refinish operation in the least amount of time. To accomplish a high level of productivity, any coatings applied need to have the ability to dry at ambient conditions in a relatively short period of time. The term “dry” means that the resulting finish is physically dry to the touch in a relatively short period of time to minimize dirt pick-up, and, in the case of the basecoat, to allow for the application of the subsequent clear coat.
Therefore, a seemingly small improvement in any one of the forgoing properties can translate into substantial improvements in productivity and quality of the repair job. Accordingly, the development of a new product that can improve the productivity and/or performance requirements of coatings used in automotive refinishing would be a great contribution to the art.